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The private insurance market has proved wildly inadequate in providing financial security for millions of older Americans, in part by underestimating how many policyholders would use their coverage.
A new study finds that young people who have been injured by firearms are more prone to psychiatric diagnoses and developing a substance use disorder than kids who have not been shot ā and their families also suffer long-term ill effects.
Medicare is expanding access to mental health counselors and marriage and family therapists come Jan. 1. But the belief that seniors who suffer from mental health problems should just grin and bear it remains a troubling barrier to care.
More than 16 million Americans who buy their own health insurance through state and federal marketplaces have until Jan. 15 to compare prices, change their coverage, or enroll for the first time.
This month, the federal government started paying for treatments delivered outside hospitals and clinics, expanding funding for āstreet medicineā teams that treat homeless patients. California led the way on the change, which could help sick and vulnerable patients get healthy, sober, and, in some cases, into housing.
Narcan is available without a prescription. Addiction treatment experts hope this move will increase access to the medication, which can reverse opioid overdoses. But hurdles remain: cost and stigma.
Lawmakers are faulting the Social Security Administration for issuing billions of dollars of payments that beneficiaries werenāt entitled to receive ā and then demanding the money back ā in the wake of an investigation by Ńī¹óåś“«Ć½Ņīl Health News and Cox Media Group.
Beneficiaries in five states described what happened when they received letters calling on them to return overpayments that can reach tens of thousands of dollars or more.
The medical dangers of heat are real. But people often ignore public heat alerts or don't realize how vulnerable they are. A new alert system prompts clinicians to talk about heat with patients.
Kaiser Permanente, the California-based health care giant, is looking to dramatically expand its national presence. Itās committed $5 billion to a new unit called Risant Health and has agreed to acquire Pennsylvania-based Geisinger, but skeptics wonder how it will export its unique model to other states.
Medicare was supposed to cover the entire cost of his procedure. But after the anesthesia provider failed to file its claims in a timely manner, it billed the patient instead.
Although nearly 40% of Americans 60 and older are obese, Medicare doesnāt cover weight loss medications. Meanwhile, studies havenāt thoroughly examined new drugsā impact on older adults.
It has been over a decade since whole milk was served in schools through the National School Lunch Program, after U.S. government dietary guidance effectively banned it. But dairy farmers, some health experts, and members of Congress say itās time to bring it back.
Nonprofit hospitals avoid paying taxes if they provide community benefits such as charity care. More states are examining that trade-off, scrutinizing the extent of hospitalsā spending on their communities.
As settlement dollars land at the state level, state councils wield significant power in determining how the windfall gets spent. And, though they will likely include the most knowledgeable voices on addiction, these panels also face concerns about conflicts of interest and other issues.
People with dementia and their families often find themselves with few legal rights when dealing with financial scams or the mismanagement of their assets. Research reveals financial troubles can be both an early sign and a painful symptom of cognitive decline.
The National Eating Disorders Associationās help line has seen demand climb to unsustainable levels since the beginning of the covid pandemic, with more people reporting severe mental health problems, the nonprofit says. But staffers worry this chatbot may make things worse.
California officials are stepping up efforts to combat the spread of xylazine, a powerful animal sedative thatās increasingly being used by people, often with devastating results. Itās mostly been an East Coast phenomenon, but ātranq,ā as it is known, is beginning to appear in the Golden State.
A push is underway to create a National Patient Safety Board modeled after the National Transportation Safety Board, an independent federal agency that investigates plane crashes and other transportation disasters. But unlike the NTSB, some patient safety advocates say, the current proposal is toothless and wouldnāt provide transparency about the nationās hospitals.
After emergency surgery, an American expatriate with Swiss insurance now carries the baggage of a five-figure bill. Costs for medical care in the U.S. can be two to three times the rates in other developed countries, so foreigners and expats with good insurance in their home countries need travel insurance to protect themselves from ācrazy prices.ā
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